SAMBO in L..A. yet?

Hey Everyone.

Is there any info anyone might have about ANYBODY (Private classes, group classes, schools etc. so long as they know what their doing and aren't frauds) teaching SAMBO in the L.A. and L.A. South Bay area other than Gokor's and that one Gene Lebell Gym (I think it's Shatayana) ?

It seems like most SAMBO schools are in the east coast and in Europe. I wish it was more popular in the U.S. I think if their were more schools on the west coast, there are people willing to learn. (Including me, if it were close enough for a drive or bus)

Currently I'm taking SanDa and Catch Wrestling. I like the SanDa class. My coach trained in China where he did three hours of SanDa and three hours of Shuai Jao a day. I love throwing and it's like kickboxing with throwing, so it's great.

He also teaches Catch, and while I think he's a very good coach, I feel like the style is maybe not useful in competition outside of Catch (ex. MMA) I think SAMBO would be a great style to train in, but so far in my searching, there are no schools.

I'm not really interested in learning BJJ. I have nothing against the art, and I think that it is very effective, and probably the best ground grappling art.

Any help would be appreciated, and if no one has any info, that's cool too.

I know there is a SAMBO club linked to the Judo club I attend. They practice somewhere or another in L.A. They are legit enough that when they joined us for a practice one day, half of them needed a translator into Russian. I will try and ask where they practice out of and how to get a hold of them report back.

Together, Sanda and Catch are, from what I've seen, similar to SAMBO (I'm sure there are differences I don't see) Sanda handles the striking and throwing, catch is submission wrestling for the ground.

I was just curious if there had been any development of new SAMBO gyms, coaches, schools, etc.

Again, thanks for the info!

Originally Posted by Krijgsman

I know there is a SAMBO club linked to the Judo club I attend. They practice somewhere or another in L.A. They are legit enough that when they joined us for a practice one day, half of them needed a translator into Russian. I will try and ask where they practice out of and how to get a hold of them report back.